Surprise, we’re married!

We are very excited to share with you that we got married in New York City on January 13, 2023. At first, we decided to keep this part of our lives private…which was actually a lot of fun! But, for the last couple of months, we’ve been thinking about how to share the news with everyone in our lives.

Our initial plan was to invite all our friends and have a first anniversary celebration at a resort on a beach somewhere. However, in reflecting on everything that is happening in the world, we have decided that we would feel better about using this occasion to try and create something lasting and meaningful for someone else.

As you (should) know, Liana was born and raised in Armenia. Just last month, on September 19, Azerbaijan invaded the independent territory known as Nagorno-Karabakh region, a place where Armenians have lived for the last 4,000 years. This invasion followed 10 months of an illegal blockade imposed by the Azeri government. As a result, 120,000 people had to flee their homes and are now refugees in Armenia.

This has created a crisis situation. Armenia is a small country which has overnight seen its population increase by more than 4% but it lacks the resources to help so many people at once. As a result, there are many families, including those with small children and elderly grandparents, living in cramped sports halls right now.

We want to help (at least) one Armenian family obtain a new home and start their lives over. So, instead of a gift registry, we’re doing a GoFundMe with an initial goal of raising $50,000. We will match 10% of the first $50,000 raised, for a total of $55,000. We believe that this will be enough to get a two bedroom apartment (or equivalent).

While we have not yet identified a specific family to receive the funds, we are aware of a situation in Masis where 31 people are living in what used to be a library and Liana has been in contact with people close by. If we reach our goal, we would like to move one of these families into a home of their own.

Thank you so much for being a part of our lives. We hope you will consider making a donation in honor of our union.